


Ocean Breeze (Take The Pain From Me)

by colorworld



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Awesome Shuri (Marvel), Bisexual Peter Parker, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Female!Peter Parker, Genderbent Peter Parker - Freeform, Genius Shuri (Marvel), Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Lesbean Shuri, Lesbian Shuri (Marvel), Meme Lord Shuri (Marvel), Non-Graphic Rape, Parent Tony Stark, Penny and Shuri are best friends, People are Assholes, Peter Parker & Shuri Friendship, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter is Penny, Rape Aftermath, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Trouble In Paradise, Underage Rape/Non-con, bisexual penny parker, no im serious, shuri beats up a pedophille, that actually happens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27637894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colorworld/pseuds/colorworld
Summary: Mr. Stark had described it pleasantly and like music to her ears: a science-tech conference being held in The British Virgin Islands at a rich one’s playground: Peter Island Resort and Spa. It’d been booked up for all the guests by the conference organizers. He just thought Penny would love to go. An island vacation mixed with her passion for science and technology. It was only four days, perfectly scheduled over a weekend where school was off on Friday and Monday. There’d probably be other kids there (even if they were kids of questionable families), it’d be four fun days in the sun at the beach, there was nothing that could go wrong. So Penny accepted the invitation. It’d be great! Why shouldn’t she go?Or: even in heaven, there is a touch of hell. Penny experiences that in one of the worst ways and doesn't know how to live with the pain and worse-how to live with the pain alone.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Shuri, Peter Parker & Shuri & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker and Shuri, Shuri & T'Challa (Marvel), Tony Stark & Penny Parker
Comments: 17
Kudos: 72
Collections: The Best Irondad/Spiderson Fics, The Best Peter Parker Whump Fics





	Ocean Breeze (Take The Pain From Me)

**Author's Note:**

> i've been trying to get back on my writing mojo since i haven't uploaded since october, so here you go! I think i've had enough of writing this particular topic, for now, so the upcoming stuff will likely be softer or just not this theme. 
> 
> I'm proud of this fic, but that doesn't mean there isn't always room to improve. I feel like this topic is tough to cover well, so if you would like after reading, please leave constructive feedback in the comments below! I aim to improve as a writer and your words are appreciated!
> 
> If you like the fic, comments and kudos are loved loved LOVED and appreciated! Hope you enjoy the fic!
> 
> Edit: I've made minor new additions to the fic so if you read it and then were to go back and look, there's a couple of changes due to good feedback of a commentor.

Mr. Stark had described it pleasantly and like music to her ears: a science-tech conference being held in The British Virgin Islands at a rich one’s playground: Peter Island Resort and Spa. It’d been booked up for all the guests by the conference organizers. He just thought Penny would love to go. An island vacation mixed with her passion for science and technology. It was only four days, perfectly scheduled over a weekend where school was off on Friday and Monday. There’d probably be other kids there (even if they were kids of questionable families), it’d be four fun days in the sun at the beach, there was nothing that could go wrong. So Penny accepted the invitation. It’d be great! Why shouldn’t she go?

From the moment the jet door opens, Penny has a sense of wonder. Here, it’s humid with moisture in contrast to arid, lifeless-feeling Queens. There are bright-white clouds in the sky with a brilliant blue background to accompany them as if the hue of the sea wasn’t enough.

She didn’t know how to repay Tony for inviting her or May for letting her go, but Penny would find a way.

It only gets better from arrival. The island breeze begins to pick up on the ferry, reminding Penny of why she wore a peach linen tunic. It’s pleasant, unlike the icy winds growing stronger during the New York winter. Here, it’s energetic, but not uptight. Relax, don’t relax, it’s whatever you want.

Then comes the dramatic shout from the dock. “WHAT ARE THOOOOSE?!”

Penny’s been prepared for this moment since the day she watched the vine. In all her glorious might, Shuri filming in the distance, Penny stomps a foot up on the edge of the ferry so her footwear could be seen. “They are my _CROCS_!”

Shuri stops the video and the two teenagers start to cackle, even though they have two minutes before the ferry arrives.

“What monster have we brought to this island, Pepper?” Tony mutters. No one will get offended about their hysterics, right? It’s a big island, you don’t have to listen to them if you don’t want to.

“I didn’t invite her, you invited her from you _and_ me,” Pepper smirks beside him.

Once they finally arrive at the dock, Penny rushes off the boat and crashes into Shuri, conversation immediately ensuing between the princess and the teen-heroine. They ignore everything else around them, including the giggles from some and strange looks from others who’d just arrived.

The British Virgin Islands are gorgeous. It was a vacation she didn’t deserve but got anyway. Penny loves walking barefoot onto the creamy gold sand for the first time, in the late afternoon after check-in, murmuring with an un-concealable smirk. “I don’t like sand.”

“It’s coarse-“ Shuri continues.

“Rough-“

“Irritating-“

“And it gets everywhere!” Penny dramatically kicks sand into the air with her foot, giggling with Shuri beside her before they continue to joke around.

Then, the first night of the conference came the day the two arrived. Penny doesn’t know who she’ll be seeing, but she still wanted to leave a good impression. Would she need to leave a good impression on anybody? That was a question she didn’t know the answer to. But she put on a paisley mini dress from Zimmerman Pepper had generously gifted her, light makeup, and wood wedges. Once she finished spraying on gardenia perfume, she looked in the mirror and was content with herself. Penny felt she looked beautiful and she felt confident. It would be a good night, tonight. And so, would the other nights.

The conference’s first night was busy and bustling. The restaurant that was being used as a venue, was filled edge-to-edge with people, an aspect a bit nerve-racking to Penny. But on the other hand, the ocean’s waves slipped up and down against the sand to counteract. Momentarily, she’d been concerned if she over or under-dressed, or if her hair frizzed, or if her lip tint smudged, or that she was just a round peg in a square hole, the square hole being the crowd and room. She didn’t own a yacht or a cushy million, multi-million dollar property and shopped only at Whole Foods do-or-die. She lived in a two-bedroom Queens apartment, attended public school, and didn’t even own a car. Shuri reassured her that no one would think anything stupid of her, but her words only half-quelled her fears.

Between intervals of being with Mr. Stark and King T’Challa, Penny met a variety of people. Some friendly and down-to-earth, others aloof and only going with the motions, and a few not even trying to suppress how snobby and or unkind they were. Those people Penny simply tried to disregard. The good, so far, was outweighing the bad.

“Mr. Stark,” one man comes to greet Tony and the two teens beside him. The man Penny guessed was around six feet tall shook hands with the billionaire beside her. “Hudson Delgado. I’m an investor in your company.”

“It’s actually my wife’s company,” Tony instantly corrects the tan man in front of him. He was absolutely not taking credit for his wife’s painfully hard work as C.E.O and president.

“My mistake,” the investor smoothly apologizes. “Welcome back to the British Virgin Islands. You’ve probably been here before, right?”

“Eh, once or twice. Fiji and Bora Bora’s more my taste.” He’s never been huge about the Caribbean.

“Mm. Oh, where are my manners? Your royal highness,” he turns his attention to Shuri and then pauses on Penny. “I apologize, but I don’t know your name.”

“Penny Parker.” It’s ok, she thinks. She didn’t know his name, either, until meeting him. The man in front of her has slick hair, is clean-shaven, and good-looking (but not to her). He looks friendly, but is this only pleasantry or does he have a goal in mind? She doesn’t know and, really, doesn’t care for a random tech investor, especially since everyone in his field has investments in Stark Industries. But he is here, anyway. Networking, Tony mentioned. It can’t hurt, she supposed.

“It’s nice meeting you, Penny. Stark, I would never have guessed she wasn’t your daughter if I didn’t know her last name. She looks just like you.”

“I get that a lot, strangely enough.” Everyone and their grandmother seemed to think she was his biological daughter. Emotionally? …It was complicated. “No, she’s an intern of mine. Penny has a guaranteed position at Stark Industries when she gets older, but I thought it’d be good for her to get a look at what the science-tech industry’s been up to. Plus, she deserves a break from high school. I can’t believe how much homework kids have these days.”

“Oh, you’re still in high school?” Hudson asks. “You look college-age, to me. And I didn’t think S.I. would have high-school interns. You sixteen, seventeen?”

“Sixteen,” Penny answers. Did she look that old? She thought she just looked her age. Apparently, not. Although, a few people thought she was eighteen, sometimes twenty. She never quite understood it, but maybe the wedges made her look older, or something.

“Kids,” Hudson shakes his head. “They’re very different from when I was growing up. I’m happy you’re here, Pen. This is a great opportunity to learn about the big things in the industry, right now.”

He continues to talk with the trio for another few minutes before Tony spots Pepper waving him over by the small buffet section. “I’m sorry, Hudson, but my lovely wife is waving me over.”

“Of course. Happy wife, happy life,” he laughs. “I’ll see you around.” Hudson passes Penny a bit close for comfort. “Nice meeting you, too, Pen,” he murmurs in a friendly tone.

Penny blinks, feeling like her stomach is an endless pit and feeling tempted to fidget with her hands. The way he brushed past her was uncomfortable. But it was fine, it was just a mistake that he walked so close to her. And most people said stuff like that when they walked by people they just met.

The rest of the night, which is, thankfully, not long, goes well. More pleasantries, more small talk, but at least there were really good bread rolls that she and Shuri kept sneaking away for their ravenous appetite. They giggled about it in corners of the room, Shuri asking Penny, at one point, if she should steal a knife and butter to go with it. Penny nodded and she came back a couple of minutes later with way too many butters, peanut butter, and jam packets with knives for two. That night, they feasted.

“So what happens tomorrow?” Penny asks while the two stroll on the beach in front of their villa. The moon is out and is almost full, lanterns behind them to light the area, as well. It’s magical and there’s no friend she’d rather spend time in a fun place like this than Shuri (and Ned and M.J., but they weren’t here).

“Tomorrow, there’s more conference stuff, but it’s not mandatory we attend most of it. I thought we’d snorkel and chill on the beach. Maybe take out a catamaran,” Shuri suggests before stepping towards the shoreline. Like the silly Shuri she is, she randomly jumps just to see the water splash and feel her feet indent into the wet, more solid sand.

“We can do that just us?” Penny asks. Were there any rules or stuff she should’ve just…known?

“Yeah,” Shuri answers, jumping once more because why not? “Even if we couldn’t, so? Princess of Wakanda has certain privileges,” she jokes, a fan of the “princess” card. “Thoughts?”

“I like all those ideas,” Penny nods. The scenery around her is agonizingly serene. Agonizing in that she would have to leave in a few days. Back to her Queens apartment, she would go. It wouldn’t happen until her time was up. Up until she gets onto the jet, she would have a blast here. Maybe she’d get some networking opportunities while she was at it and learn new things. Mr. Stark acted like she already knew nearly everything that needed to be known, sometimes, but Penny felt she was only at the beginning. This was an opportunity she wouldn’t not take.

The two end up setting down a towel and watching Tik Toks until late at night, even when most people had gone to bed. The last straw to get them to finally retreat into their villa was Shuri accidentally shrieking in laughter at a Tik Tok before Penny jumps up, yanks the towel out from underneath one of her best friends, and runs inside with the princess on her tail.

The morning starts early. Penny, oddly enough, wakes up first. After thirty minutes of simply lying there with Shuri softly snoring in the bed next to hers, she finally checks the time. Only six-forty-eight? Wow. That was unusual. It was vacation time and she was waking up early? Impressive.

She slips out of bed, even with it being painful as it was with sheets and pillows so comfortable. Penny tries to be quiet, taking careful steps to the patio. She slowly opens the door and is, once again, met with the alluring siren’s call that the waves were. The sky was a bit cloudier today, but not much. The sun still made a sunrise to die for, clouds looking lavender purple with an orange orb at the horizon surrounded by swaths of yellow and more orange. The sea just so close to her is foamier than it was last night. Penny feels like poking her fingers in it, but is filled with deliberation with the “what ifs” like what if she touched a dead jellyfish, somehow, or if she found a sharp seashell and cut her finger? Neither of those concepts made sense or were logical to be afraid of, but it scared her off, anyways. No seafoam-poking would be done.

Penny turns around and walks back inside the dark room. It was early for the princess that slept in until nine or nine-thirty on a normal day. A nice thought arrives in her mind when she approaches her bed, originally desiring to snuggle back in bed. What if she got the two of them breakfast to bring back to the room? Penny knew how Shuri liked her “smart sleep” (rather than beauty sleep). With the idea, she goes to the closet and pauses before eventually choosing a maxi dress from Farm Rio. She takes it with her to the bathroom and puts it on after brushing her teeth and doing her face. Her makeup is heavier, SPF fifty in the foundation May reminded her to bring to defend against the sun. She didn’t do it last night, but she used her curling wand on her hair lightly to give herself airy and fresh-but still minimal curls. And before she goes out the door, Penny slides on flip flops, too lazy to go back to her closet to grab nicer sandals.

When she finally leaves the suite and heads towards the restaurant to get breakfast, the sun has risen higher and the clouds seem to have parted a bit. Mentally, Penny pauses to appreciate how the breeze goes through the trees. These trees are tropical and vibrant and the flowers surrounding the pathway are colorful.

The walk to the restaurant isn’t long and the restaurant isn’t too busy, yet. There is, once again, a buffet, but it’s ten times bigger. There’s fruit, pancakes, bacon, waffle makers, omelet makers, and much more sitting there.

Oh, yeah, she was gonna get the two of them plenty.

Penny grabs two big plates and gets into line, getting healthy portions of everything that looked appetizing for her and, for Shuri, everything Penny thought she’d like most. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, and a fruit ended up on her plate while pancakes, bacon, and granola on Shuri’s. She was about to be done, but Penny knew she’d die if Shuri ever found out there was Nutella and biscuits and that she didn’t get some, she would be in trouble.

“You dress up well,” a sudden voice makes Penny shudder and turn to her right. “My ex-wife loves that brand.”

Hudson Delgado was leaving a endless-pit-stomach feeling in her, once again. And the way he was looking at her made it worse. In response, she simply nods. There must be a reason he’s divorced. Out of her flustered-ness, she grabs multiple Nutella packets to smother on the biscuit in the villa instead of here like she was doing.

“Makeup’s a bit heavy on a girl for your age, but when celebrities can slather it all over their toddlers, no age is too young,” he jokes with a mild laugh. “I guess the Starks and Udakus are still sleeping, huh? Yeah, it is a bit early. They say it for Hawaii, but it’s islands, so it’s still island time.”

“Mmhmm,” Penny nods quickly, her spider-senses going out of wack like something saying, "Just get out." But she wasn't listening to the voice, yet. Why was her makeup a subject? Now that she was uncomfortable, was the v-neck on her dress too low? It wasn’t, right? She had checked and she has a cami over her bra and under her dress. Even though discomfort was rising up, there was nothing wrong, she was just intimidated by older men. He wasn’t that old, probably early forties, but she couldn’t help it. The only men she’d ever been very comfortable around were her uncle and Mr. Stark (and of course, her father, but he passed away and she could barely remember him). They were her paternal figures but this guy…no. Nowhere near. She lifts up the two plates, trying to escape, even while balancing them with drinks on top. It was going to be a slower walk back to the suite. “The princess awaits her breakfast,” she attempts joking, starting off in the other direction.

“Girlfriend wanted breakfast in bed?” Hudson smirks while grabbing a plate from the buffet.

Penny stops dead in her tracks. He did not just say that. Shuri was one of her closest friends and, yes, she was bisexual and the princess was gay, but Shuri wasn’t her girlfriend! How on Earth would he even know if either of them weren’t straight? She then continues to speed-walk back to the suite, trying to walk fast, even though it was a struggle with the heavy plates and drinks on top.

Everything was fine, he was just weird! A bit creepy, but she didn’t have to spend time around him. In fact, why not just walk away or pretend to not notice him when he comes around her? But what if she comes off as rude? This is ridiculous, he’s just social with kids. He probably has kids with his ex-wife he never sees anymore. Maybe he has a daughter that’s her age and they look alike. Maybe-

She arrives at the suite and Shuri, of course, is still asleep. Just for this time, she lets the worries float away, even if not completely. Penny shakes her head and sets the food down on the main table of their room, then grabbing a pillow from her bed and smacking Shuri on the head with it. “Wake up, dumbass,” she giggles loudly.

Shuri starts muttering intense swears in Xhosa and eventually groans, turning over with no energy to speak yet.

Penny’s not a complete monster, so she doesn’t rip the luxe duvet off of her best friend. Instead, she grabs a water bottle and unscrews the cap. “Don’t make me pour water on you, Shuriiiiii,” she smirks.

“NO!” Shuri rolls over to her other side and rolls off the bed with a yelp.

“Ohmygodthat’snotwhatimeanttodo,” Penny exclaims. She meant to do it apologetically, but she couldn’t stop laughing, even as she tried to help her off the floor.

Shuri finally gets up onto her feet and once she does, she pushes Penny over onto her bed as swift revenge before heading outside. She experiences what Penny does when she went outside just half-an-hour ago. It’s a calm, lovely morning on a paradise island.

“I got us breakfast,” Penny says. “Wanna eat it out here?”

“Ooh, what’d you get?” Shuri turns around and looks at all the food. “Oh, thank Bast you got pineapple.”

“What, didn’t notice the biscuits and Nutella packets?”

“Oh, that’s what that is?” Shuri picks up a plate and takes it out onto the beach, snatching a towel on the way to sit on the sand. “You’re a blessing.”

The two enjoy breakfast on the beach, munching on various foods as the sun rises on the horizon. By the time it becomes around eight, Mr. Stark texts Penny inviting them to Deadman’s Beach (one of five on the island), saying T’Challa wanted to keep an eye on Shuri, who snorts upon reading it over Penny’s shoulder. They both agree and migrate there within the hour in their swimsuits with coverups.

The clouds have parted further by the time they get there. The hue of the sky and the sea and the sand is so much at once and it leaves Penny in awe. The beach in front of the suite was nice, but no wonder this one was the icon of the island. There were palm trees rising and falling gently with the wind, loungers underneath them, catamarans in the distance. There were people in trunks and bikinis (some too skimpy, for her taste, hence why she was in a more modest one-piece swimsuit), some not in swimsuits at all and, instead, were in normal clothes. When she spots Tony and Pepper, she waves and Mr. Stark waves back. “Hey, kid.”

“Hey, Mr. Stark,” Penny greets when they get to the couple’s loungers. Finally, men that didn’t make her want to sprint away as fast as she could. The billionaire looks chillaxed and Pepper looks content. T’Challa sits with eyes under his sunglasses closed on a lounger next to Pepper.

“Hey, kid. Having fun, so far?”

“Aside from Hudson Creepgado, yes,” she wanted to say, but Penny couldn’t. Nothing was wrong-it was fine! Between her and Shuri and Tony and everyone else, she didn’t have to be around him, anymore. Delgado only approached her that morning because she was alone. Now, she would try her hardest to not be alone. Easy. And how much more could he possibly bother her? There was only today and tomorrow left before she, sadly, went back home. “Yeah, I’m having a blast. Still kinda absorbing that I’m here,” she confesses.

“Well, you are,” Tony reaffirms. “Now go have fun. No reason to hang around old me.”

“If you were that old, we’d already be gone, Stark,” Shuri quips.

“Shuri,” T’Challa warns, lying perfectly still on his lounger.

“I’m used to it from these two, T’Challa, it’s fine,” Tony waves it off.

“You both have plenty of sunscreen on, right?” Pepper checks since almost no teenager liked wearing long-sleeve UPF 50 clothing.

“Yes, Mrs. Stark,” Penny answers for the two of them before they head off to the shoreline to do what kids usually did best: be dumbasses and have fun.

The hours fly by having fun on the beach. They swam around, waded in the water, and goofed off. They did cartwheels and Tik-Tok stunts to Tony, Pepper, and T’Challa’s amusement from under the palm trees. They took a few pictures of themselves with the self-timer feature on their phones, were able to find some seashells on the shore, and had lunch with the adults when they finally gave into their hunger. Penny didn’t want her time to end. She was gonna miss Shuri and she was gonna miss this vacation paradise. Perhaps she’d have to try to organize a trip with her royal friend to somewhere else they’d always wanted to visit like Iceland or Japan or Australia. They’d both die to go to any three of those places.

"Maybe I'll just have to make necklaces with these," Penny jokes, holding up some seashells to her neck and laughing. The two of them had found seashells, some having strange holes in them that must have been an effect of rocks or the ocean water. 

A sharp zap of discomfort arises. 

Penny turns her head one way and, quickly, the other. What are her senses trying to tell her? There's nothing there! Just the beach paradise this was with its creamy sand and tropical trees. 

She turns once more when the corner of her eye caught something: a body turning and walking away from a palm tree. Was that...No. She didn't think that was Hudson Delgado. And even if it was, he was probably just enjoying the weather or taking a walk or something random. Nothing suspicious..right? She didn't want to worry-Penny was having too much fun to worry. 

Shuri blinks. "Or a bracelet or anklet. What, you see something?"

"No!" Penny quickly answers. "I'd probably wear a bracelet the most, actually. For _you_ , however, maybe we'll just make it something to hang from your hair as a _bea-u-tiful_ hair accessory," she smirks and dangles it around Shuri's hair, causing her to swat Penny's hand away.

Then, by four P.M. another segment of the conference came, but Penny and Shuri didn’t stick around for long. And when it came to the term long for Tony, he didn’t take long to realize that this was best suited as a vacation for Penny more than anything. Sure, she stuck around and looked at a few things the conference had to offer, but she was happiest with Shuri doing fun stuff outside. He couldn’t blame her a single bit.

When Penny finally realized the time of the day, slightly sunburnt, but feeling wild and free, it was dinner time. She changed out of her swimsuit, dusted off any sand, and threw on flowy palazzo pants to go with a dressy lemon-yellow tank top for dinner. They would be at a less fancy restaurant that had an outside patio they’d be eating on, so casual beach-life clothes would do the trick.

During eating, Penny swears she’s gained five pounds on this trip, but doesn’t care as she eats another bite of chicken parmesan. It’s really _really_ good chicken parmesan. But when she finally finishes her plate, she blinks and feels something: her mascara smudged. It wasn’t a big deal. However, dinner was over and it was the only makeup piece besides rosy lipstick that she was wearing right now. She could simply go take it off. She turns to look at Shuri beside her. “Is my mascara smudged?”

Shuri looks closely into Penny’s eyes. “Yes. Don’t you wear super water-smudge-proof mascara?”

“I just put on Benefit roller lash, tonight,” Penny explains. She looks at the rest of the table. “I’ll be right back. Just gonna fix up the whole raccoon eye mess,” she says before departing for the restroom with her petite purse now on her shoulder. 

Penny heads towards the restrooms. They were at the edge of the outdoor patio, women’s on the right. She walks inside to find it and all six stalls empty. It was just her and some very brightly lit lights rimming the mirror. Probably for every woman who ever worried about their makeup.

She pulls the Neutrogena makeup wipes out of her bag and starts to lightly rub away at her lashes, being careful so that they don’t fall out or get damaged. Her dark brown hairs were particularly delicate and dainty, but she had considered getting lash extensions. Maybe in the next few months. She’d have time to save the money to go to a good place, probably wherever Pepper recommended or if May already knew a good place.

It starts to rise in her, again, just like it did earlier. The hairs on her neck and arm stood straight up-she could feel the electric force of it. She shook her head. It was _just_ the women's restroom-it was _fine_. When Penny finishes with her lashes, she tosses the makeup wipe smeared in black and tosses it into the trash hole in the countertop that led to the trash can below.

“Hey, beautiful.”

Penny’s head jerks up and behind her, the mirror shows her horrified expression and the man she loathed and dreaded in the background. No, she wouldn’t do this anymore. She immediately darts towards the front of the bathroom, but he grabs her hand and pulls her in, putting his hands around her waist and then her lower back. “Oh, come on, we’re having fun. You looked nice in that swimsuit, by the way. Leaves the rest to imagination.”

He saw her at the beach?! Even worse, this was the most modest swimsuit she brought! It was one she loved, too. But nothing about her was safe with a fucking _pedophile_ around. Her worst fears were realized, and she was petrified. He smells like wonderful Creed cologne, but he looks like the very worst of all men. “Let me _GO_!” she growls desperately. Realistically, she could snap this bastard’s neck any second she wanted, but she couldn’t let him know-please, she just wanted him to leave her alone and never bother her again.

Hudson leans his head towards her ear and gives it a nibble as Penny keeps murmuring “no” over and over and over again. “Come on, doll, we’re just having fun,” he begins to slide his hands up and down her torso and it’s all moving so fast, Penny doesn’t know what to do or how to do it. He’s stronger than he looks. She tried to jab her elbow into his face numerous times and nearly succeeds, but he dodges her. She tries to ram him into the wall, but that just doesn't work. “Let’s have fun, Penelope,” he whispers in the worst way that makes anyone want to throw up immediately.

Hudson was able to have his fun, even if it was at her expense.

Ten minutes later, a man walks out of the women’s restroom and no one would know why.

In the bathroom’s largest stall lies a gorgeous, brilliant, and normally peppy teenage girl who’s now crumpled, crying, and destroyed. His words in her head won’t stop. “If we had the time, I’d return you the favor,” he said. “I promise you I’d give you the night of your life,” he said. He said things ten times worse, but those two stuck with her. It was as if this was normal, but only monsters could think this was normal.

A headache grows to a roaring migraine. She’s crying and crying and crying, there’s so much pressure around her head, her nose, her eyes. Her hands won’t stop shaking and she would pray to God who she didn’t believe existed for every mouth cleaning device ever invented. So many touches on her skin she couldn’t undo-that no amount of body wash or lotion could erase. Nothing could change how he just violated her-what he made her do. Nothing in heaven or hell could.

Penny doesn’t know how to get up again. He didn’t do that to her, but after everything that _did_ happen, how was she supposed to get up? To pretend she found a zit and got rid of it, that she got distracted on her phone with a Snapchat notification? How was she supposed to let a monster among men walk the Earth an un-imprisoned animal?

Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up she tells herself. Everyone will worry, everyone will no-please don’t let anyone know. Why weren’t you stronger-why didn’t you fight back? She didn’t know and she couldn’t let her other identity be revealed-he could do more harm to her that way, even though this hurt like hell. Why did you wear that short dress? Why did you wear that v-neck on your maxi dress? Why didn’t you wear a better swimsuit? Penny loved that dress and it wasn’t that short, she didn’t think the v-neck was that low, and God _fucking forbid_ she wear a one-piece white floral swimsuit to the fucking beach!

With breaths shuddering and hands trying to stop shaking while palms to the floor, Penny is wobbly and ten times heavier standing up. She steadies herself with the stall door handle, even if it can’t steady her mind. Just text Shuri. Tell her she got sick, had eaten too much chicken parmesan. Was tired anyway. That’d work, right? Couldn’t let anyone know. No one. Nobody.

Penny texts Shuri as quickly as she can and runs off back to the suite. Does she know the way? Does anyone see how puffy her eyes are-probably as bad-looking as an allergic reaction? She walks as far as her legs will go without stopping, which is a lot, shockingly. It’s shocking because all Penny wants to do is collapse and let it all go. But she can’t. She’s trapped. No one can know-not anyone!

Minutes feel like double the minutes, but when Penny arrives, she falls onto the bed and shrieks as hard as she can scream into her pillow.

It hurts. It hurts her vocal cords, her lungs, and her ears. When she finally can stop, she begins to sob again. Tears after tears after tears-there was no way she’d ever stop crying. Penny knew she’d be like this until morning or whenever Shuri came back. She loved Shuri so much, but she didn’t want her to be around-or Tony or Pepper or T’Challa or anybody. No one could know-how could she talk normally and act like everything was still wonderful after what had just happened to her?

Penny clutches her body close to her. It was hers and he was all around it and over it-he was on her and had her on him and-

The only therapy was the ocean. It was so close.

She snatches a blanket and runs out the patio door, nearly tripping down the steps. Penny lets herself fall into the sand, wrap the blanket around her, and let the waves be there for her in place of people. Let the waves rise and fall against the sand, maybe it’d be enough to replace her aunt’s voice or Tony’s voice or Shuri’s. Maybe it’d be enough for the waves to be there, but not her aunt or father or best friend. Just maybe, the sea could replace all three. Just maybe she could listen to the sea when she went home on her phone and it’d still be enough.

Deep down, though, it would never be enough. Penny had to swallow that those thoughts were childish lies and just let herself keep crying.

Once upon a time, Penny thought that there was only so much a girl could cry. However, that was until her parents died. That was until she became Spider-Girl. That was until Ben died, until May often cried, until she was buried under piles and piles of rubble, until she broke her crush’s heart. There was really no limit to how much a human could cry, even if they had drank very little that day. They always had it in them.

The world slows so much that an hour of crying and attempting to calm herself down felt like two. But by the looks of the full moon above, so beautiful, yet mournful looking down on a sweet girl like Penny, she could tell it wasn’t that late or that long ago she set herself on the sand to cry until her heartstrings snapped from doing so.

Ten. It’s ten at night if she guessed correctly. Shuri would probably be back, by now. Penny forces herself up off the ground, feeling like her head spun as fast as a Beybalade toy. She almost fell down with the weight of it, but she kept going. Get to the suite…Suite…

* * *

“Pen? Hey, Pen?”

A masculine voice stirs her to consciousness. Wait, masculine voice? Penny gasps and jolts up, even though she’s tired beyond belief. It’s not him, it’s just Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark who she wishes could just hug her and, somehow, make it ok, even though that wasn’t possible. No one could make it ok.

“Hhmsrsark,” Penny mutters tiredly, praying inside that she wasn’t a complete wreck.

“You ok, honey? You left dinner in a hurry, last night. Shuri said you had a stomachache,” Tony voices concern, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Bed. She was asleep in bed. Yeah, she fell asleep. She did? Penny couldn’t even remember it. But she had woken up in her bed in the same clothes that she was…taken advantage of in. Mr. Stark called her honey and that, alone, made her want to break down and cry. He can be soft and loving with her. It’s _Ben_ and it’s just the Mr. Stark she knows and loves. But that can’t change anything that happened. The hardest people to tell, in your life, if something like sexual assault or rape happened to you, it was always the men. What are you supposed to say to your father or your uncle? What do you do when you see the rage in their fists and the agony in their eyes? Then, there’s the awkwardness because, well, they’re men. There’s something different about it from the women. You don’t want to tell your mother, but it still happens. Your father, however? You try to tell him last. His reaction is just something you can’t bare to see.

“I came in and she was just snoozing away,” Shuri adds to her earlier explanation. “She needed her sleep, I guess.”

Yeah, she needed her sleep. “Yeah…” is all Penny can say in response.

“I thought we could take a catamaran out today,” Tony suggests like Shuri did the day before yesterday. “You up for that?”

Penny waits to respond. “Gimme a few hours. Whatimeissit?”

“Uh, nine-thirty,” Shuri answers. “Wanna go at twelve?”

Penny nods. She rolls out of bed, stumbling into the bathroom and locking the door behind her. Her head’s still heavy like it was before. Was she gonna throw up? Toothbrush, toothpaste, she grabs them both, gets the Colgate toothpaste onto her electric toothbrush, and begins to vigorously brush. She would brush and brush, even if she bled. Thank God there was hydrogen peroxide in this toothpaste and thank God she remembered her Listerine.

Penny brushed for four minutes instead of two. The time flew. Maybe her teeth would be irritated…but at least they’d feel cleaner. At least it maybe made it feel like it didn’t happen quite as much.

She wears long sleeves and long pants, and the neckline had to be high. There was a turquoise jumpsuit that fit the bill, but even then, nothing could protect her. Would the minimizing bra help? Would less makeup make her look less appealing? Should she not wear a swimsuit for the rest of the time?

So many questions, so few answers. But would answers or attempts to be more modest do anything? Would it change what happened? No. It didn’t.

Penny wore her hair tied back, no makeup, no perfume, nothing fancy-today was minimalist day. The things that made her feel pretty were now her enemy.

Everyone except Shuri leaves her alone until twelve. Shuri sits on the patio on her phone, chilling with the sunlight outside. It’s gorgeous outside, but Penny can’t smile. Only fake smiles can be etched into her face. That hurt more than frowning.

Eventually, Penny goes with Shuri and the catamaran ride begins. It’s supposed to be fun, but it isn’t. It would be if her mind was not filled with thoughts of being surrounded by loved ones and being unable to laugh or smile authentically. If they knew, they’d say her dress was too short, the v-neck was too low, the swimsuit was too skimpy. But his words ring in her head. Her suit left his brain to imagination-imagination over her body. A forty-year-old-man thirsting for a minor’s body. What a monster. And she couldn’t stop the monster.

Penny wishes she could be alone, but she couldn’t. She and Shuri were attached at the hip like they had been this whole time. It hadn’t been a bad thing until last night. And if Mr. Stark was next to her being the wonderful self he was, she was going to sprint off and sob in a corner. Thankfully, however, he wasn’t. He stood on the opposite of the boat with Pepper beside him, Penny able to see him kiss his wife’s cheek.

Time is slow. It’s slow through being shown Tik Toks, having some gummy bears as a snack, feeling like she was going to be sunburned despite having tons of sunscreen on. Usually, time was fast, but she wasn’t having fun. Penny was in pain, but no one could know. Nobody. There was nothing they could do about it, anyway.

She hurts so much inside, Penny’s convinced she’s aching on the outside. Her feet hurt from standing in one position for too long, yet something inside her screams against moving. The fear and the agony has paralyzed her to the core.

“You ok, Pen?”

Penny’s heart bounced and she jolted. “Yeah?”

Shuri looks at her best friend thoroughly concerned. “Your hand was shaking,” she deadpans, now back from grabbing a snack.

“I’m alright, Shuri.” Penny knew she wouldn’t be convinced too easily, but what else was she supposed to say? Then it came to her. “Sea stomach is weaker than I thought.” She was supposed to laugh after her words, but she didn’t have it in her.

The catamaran ride ends and existing feels unnatural. Penny can’t relax-not a bone or muscle in her body can. What if he’s somehow there? What if someone finds out? What if there are others like him? What if he’s been watching her the whole time-he saw her at the beach and she never saw him?

“It’s so lush and green here, Pen! Wakanda and surrounding countries have rainforests, but even over there, the ecosystem is still just very different,” Shuri rambles on with no stop. They were currently in a coconut grove garden that was filled with flowers and plants of all sorts.

Yes, it was pretty here, to Penny, but she could barely sustain any positive thoughts. The aching wasn’t going away, inside and out. She couldn’t keep going like this, it was going to kill her. But what was she supposed to do? And what would make a difference? And how was she going to continue with nothing happening to him?

“Pen-“

Penny screams in fright, taken out of her trance, terrified, and stopped in the middle of the path while her friend tries to calm her down. “I’m sorry, Shuri, I’m sorry-“

“You haven’t been yourself all day long. What’s going on?” Shuri asks seriously.

“I’m ok, nothing’s wrong-“

“Says everyone who is not ok and has something wrong _ever_ ,” Shuri interrupts her sharply. “Is it something I did-if I did something, I’m sorry-“

“Youdidn’tdoanythingwrongShurii’mok,” Penny contradicts in a panic all in one breath. “I’m-“

Her heart ceases functioning for a split second.

“What? Penny?”

Shuri’s talking, but it’s fading into nothing. She stares at him as he walks towards them with a smile. “Penny, your royal highness. How’s you girls’ day been?”

“It’s been quite alright, but we’re in the middle of something here if you don’t mind leaving us alone, thank you,” Shuri snips irritably before ushering Penny away with a hand in hers to a corner where no one is. “Penny, you looked like you were going to jump out of your skin when you saw Delgado-“ she whisper shouts before her face grows to realization and her voice plummets to a mad growl, “what the fuck did he do?”

“Shuri-“ Penny’s voice stumbles.

She was done playing games and in being so done, Shuri acted like a different person. “What did. He. _Do_?”

“He didn’t do anything, I can’t even remember his name,” Penny falsely claims on the verge of tears. Why her, why now, why did this have to happen? She was going to burst and everything was gonna come undone any second and she couldn’t take it.

“Bullshit!” Shuri exclaims. “I know he did something-I know something’s been wrong ever since you came out of the bathro-“

Then she remembered how some people in the world behaved.

She thinks about it. Delgado wasn’t in the room and neither was Penny once she went to the bathroom. It didn’t take long to figure out and once she did, the rage of Bast was inside her. “He followed you into the bathroom. He did things, didn’t he?”

Tears are streaming down Penny’s face, still a ticking time bomb, unable to speak without her voice cracking, stumbling, and jumping up and down. “Shuri, I’m fine, it wasn’t that bad-“ she blurts, but can’t take back her words once she regrets them.

“Wasn’t that bad-“ Shuri is flabbergasted and panicked by how she kept this under wraps all the way until now. “He raped you!”

“NO!” Penny shakes her head. “Hemademedootherthingsnowpleasebequieticantletanyone-“

“Whatever he made you do,” Shuri’s voice drops to a deathly whisper, hand fisting without thought, “I’m sure was still rape, even if it wasn’t intercourse…It’s what I think it is, isn’t it?”

Penny says nothing and instead covers her mouth, trying not to make a scene for all the people that weren’t there. Shuri was going to tell them all-she was gonna tell every single one of them-Penny didn’t know how she was going to breathe when that happened. Her knees were going to buckle-she couldn’t take this anymore.

She doesn’t know how it’s happening, but she’s being dragged along back to the resort suite by Shuri. This is the first thing that happens quickly in a long time and once she’s there, she’s guided to sit down on the bed and Shuri just hugs her.

It’s the final straw. She breaks.

Like a baby and like she did before, Penny cried and cried and cried, but this time, with the comfort of her friend. But even her best friend’s heartbeat close to hers could not be heard over her consistent, dreadful, endless sobbing as she trembled in one’s arms.

But then came the blubbering of words. Things included jumbles of, “My dress was too short,” “It’s all my fault,” “I should have brought more long sleeves and pants” “I should never have worn makeup”.

“Penny, slow down, shhh,” Shuri attempts to soothe but is completely futile.

“I didn’t push him away as hard as I could’ve-I didn’t want him to know my powers-he was strong-“

Shuri slowly pulls away from the hug to let Penny lie down on the bed. She runs to her own bed and gets the weighted blanket off, throwing it onto Penny and lying back down with her. She had no idea how to comfort people, but this was what worked for herself. Maybe just maybe it could help her best friend? “Penny, we have to tell someone.”

Penny shakes her head violently.

“We have to tell T’Challa or Pepper or Tony-“

Tony. God, please not Tony. “NO!” more tears pour down Penny’s face.

“Even if you wanted to keep it a secret, Pen, it’d never stay hidden. How are you supposed to go home and keep that from May? How is he supposed to get arrested if you can’t tell anybody? And with the trauma showing so vividly, everyone can piece it together,” Shuri calmly, or as calm as she could be (hard task), explains. She’s starting to settle in her mind that she’s going to text Tony to come to the suite, but what will happen, she doesn’t know. He’d know what to do…right?

Penny further and further curls up on the bed with a weighted blanket as her shield from all things bad. She wants it to stop, she wants it to go away. All the pain and confrontation. She wants her mouth to be clean, she wants her body to feel untouched.

“Pen,” Shuri finally says while watching her go into sub-conscious, knowing what she was going to do. “It’s going to be ok…” she gives her best friend a final hug before getting up. “I’ll make it ok.”

* * *

Hearing two voices draws Penny’s consciousness from the ground like pulling weeds.

She doesn’t move, maybe she’s dreaming or maybe this will stop. Deep down, Penny knows it won’t, but the thought is so sweet-sweeter than candy. Realizing one of the voices is masculine makes Penny curl more and more to the point of where it’s painful, but she can’t stop doing it.

“She awake? It’s…not that late,” his voice sounds like he had been trying not to cry after doing so, but not heavily.

“She’s fake sleeping, but I don’t blame her,” Shuri whispers. “After…”

“I know, honey, I know. Go see T’Challa and Pepper. I think one person at a time is best.” Penny then hears a small kiss. She can’t see it, but she knows it was on Shuri’s forehead. With the sad absence of T’Chaka in Shuri’s life, Tony had slowly begun to fill the role of paternal figure for her, too, as he’d done with her. In the past, she’s joked he was a fatherless-parent-in-need-of-father-magnet.

Then, the side of the bed sinks.

“Penny…honey, I know you’re awake.”

Part of her just wants to say, “no, I’m not,” and the other part of her wants to stay silent. The desire for silence wins. She can’t face Tony. She just can’t do it.

“I promise you that I’m never going to let him hurt you again. I’m never going to let anyone hurt you again,” he sounds like he’s trying not to cry, like he’s trying to not fall apart, like the wildfire rage and the hurricane of depression is going to consume him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

The exact same words and phrases that she told Shuri came to mind and, roughly, to mouth, even though they didn’t answer his question. “It was my fault-my dress was too short, I wore-I wore a swimsuit, my makeup was too heavyIdon’tknowwhatIdidtodeservethis,” she begins to, once again cry.

“Honey, this is _not_ your fault,” Tony says forcefully, but terrified when he realizes that he spoke with too much anger. It wasn’t for her, God no, it was for a man he shook _hands_ with. He shook hands with a pedophile and a rapist and didn’t know it. It was going to haunt him until the day he died and descended to hell. Tony swallows, at a loss for any words different from before. “It’s not,” he whispers in reaffirmation.

Penny begins to cry more and more and he lifts just enough of the blanket off of the teen and pulls her up into a hug, her body like a rag doll. Tony hold her close and tight, something he took well to when he realized his role in the girl’s life. He can feel the terror and sheer pain just by hugging her. Parent’s instinct, maybe? Either way, she was hurting so badly and he may beg heaven and hell, but there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing could ever turn back the clock. Maybe if he’d just seen Delgado, or someone else had. Who the fuck didn’t see him walk into the women’s restroom-did no one seriously see him? The ways this could have been stopped made his blood boil more if that was even humanly possible. The seething rage that draws you to insanity was deep inside him, spun up with the unbearable sadness. There were people out there with enough savageness in them to do this to a sixteen-year-old girl- _his_ girl!

Penny can’t stop crying and a bit of her wondered if she ever would. But he was here, now. She could always turn to Tony for almost anything and she didn’t mean for him to find out, but he did, anyway. To a point, Penny’s able to let go and let some of the stress seep out of her body, but it wasn’t going to entirely go away. Right now, she was safe. As for what would happen next, she didn’t know. Maybe Delgado would be arrested, or someone would beat him so much that he’d end up in a coma. That were the best-case scenarios. Worst case, nothing happens to him and he ends up preying on other teenage girls just like her. But if it wasn’t for herself, he needed to be put away so that no other girls would experience what she did.

Was she the first? Or was she, perhaps, the tenth? When the question reached Penny’s head, it never leaves. Instead, it makes a home in her head.

“The only reason I left you alone with Shuri all the time was that I thought you’d want some time to just do whatever-to just be kids. I brought you here because I wanted you to go to the conference to learn things and have a nice vacation, not…” Tony can’t even finish the sentence and starts a new one. “I don’t care what it takes, he’ll spend the rest of his life rotting in prison, and then hell.” And if not…Natasha Romanoff was the best assassin he knew, if not the world’s greatest. He would let her deal with him. Ideally, he wanted to kill the bastard, himself, but that was a recipe for disaster.

“I know, I know,” Penny murmurs. “’S’not your fault.”

“I didn’t watch out for you. _None_ of us did.” Tony still couldn’t believe no one saw him go into the restroom after her-or no one said anything. If someone at the resort saw or knew something, they were next. Next to feel his wrath.

For the next ten minutes, they sit wordlessly on the bed, the sky growing cloudier and the day coming closer to an end outside. Night was coming soon. Maybe it meant Penny could rest, or maybe it meant that she would be wide-awake in terror. Nothing could happen to her now, right? He was right here holding her, it felt like nothing or no one could reach her when she was in his grasp.

Five minutes later, there’s a gentle knock on the door. Penny stirs from nearly falling asleep safe and sound in his arms, pulling herself away so the billionaire beside her could get the door.

Tony gets up, leaving Penny wrapped in the weighted blanket and giving her a look of, “everything’s alright.” He opens up the door and finds a serious, simmering-in-anger T’Challa in front of him. “The BVI police came for him. They found Delgado beaten so bruised and bloody that he was unconscious by his hotel room.”

Who else knew? Or did someone find out? Was it someone they knew? “Who?”

T’Challa looks him dead in the eyes and raises his brows, making it clear that the answer to that question was obvious.

“Shuri,” they both answered at the same time. “And we need to make sure that they don’t arrest _her_ , now,” T’Challa says.

Tony pauses, rubbing his face in stress. “It’s gonna be a long night. Don’t you both have immunity here?”

“We’ll see. No one wants a teenager beating them up on a luxury resort island of the wealthy. However, I hope that they empathize with Shuri’s cause. Besides, Delgado’s injured, not dead.”

“Surprisingly,” Tony remarks, walking out the door with T’Challa to go survey the situation. If it had been him at the scene, he would be dead and his body would be, likely, unrecognizable.

It took a lot of time talking and convincing (and, of course, Pepper’s brutal death stare) overnight, but the police agreed to not arrest Shuri. The investor was sent to a hospital and as for what exactly happened next, they didn’t know. Court? Jail? Prison? Would it be American, or would it be B.V.I? They had two different legal systems entirely. Depending on what jurisdiction the case fell under, it may determine whether he will have a lengthy sentence or even one at all when being released on bail is a possibility.

Penny spent her night knowing nothing except that she was ok and safe in her suite. Was justice a possibility? Would she never have to see his face again? She didn’t know. Did she even want justice or for him to just go away? So many questions and every single one of them made her head spin so fast, she couldn’t breathe right.

Shuri, thankfully not arrested, came to sit with her on the bed, putting on Kipo on Netflix, bringing salty popcorn and gummy bears with her the night after Delgado was arrested. Maybe it’d cheer Penny up? It was as if she’d gotten heartbroken by some girl or boy rather than what was done to her, but she didn’t know what to do. There was no forgetting and absolutely no forgiving. All they could do was make him suffer in the legal system and help her recover. Never again would she let herself miss the signs. She’s going to live with the guilt of not suspecting something being wrong earlier forever, but she can’t change the past. Only the future. Only now.

He’s gone. Or he’s going to be gone. He’ll be gone, right? Penny has a chaotic storm inside her head. She never wants to see his face ever again, but time will only tell how that will go.

Why couldn’t have she done better? Why?

Shuri starts a conversation with her and many of the thoughts are pushed away. She still feels like she’s looking at her best friend in disbelief that she beat Delgado up. Shuri was absolutely the type to, but she actually did it. Yeah, she might talk about beating people up for various reasons, but it’s another thing to do it, and to do it well. Thank God she was a princess with immunity.

“I’ll be in the bathroom,” Shuri says, handing her friend the bowl of popcorn and gummy bears before getting up and heading off.

Penny nods and looks towards the door to the patio and beach. Suddenly, the idea of going outside sounds nice, so she pauses the tv and does so.

Peter Island is a pretty place. Would she ever come back, though? No. She’d seek out new places, safer places. But in a world like this, is there anywhere truly safe?

The sand draws her away from questions, as does the ocean water and the awe-inspiring moon in the sky and above the sea. Part of her wonders if someone is watching her from afar like Delgado did and it makes her stop and it makes her skin crawl. Penny looks around in all corners and directions. There was nobody there, she was ok. Shuri was right inside the suite…but a creature inside her still said, “No.”

“Penny?”

Penny gasps and turns around, seeing Shuri and the new addition of Tony leaving the suite. “Enjoying the night?”

Her last saving grace from going back inside. “The, uh…Nature is a better screen than the man-made ones.”

“It took me a long time to learn that one,” Tony replies, poking Shuri as they head down the steps. “You, too.”

“Did not!” Shuri voices her rebuttal. “I love the Wakandan rainforests and hillsides and savannahs.”

“Once you looked up from your phone and got out of your lab.”

“You have a lab, too,” Shuri fights back, stepping her bare feet into the sand and then sitting down next to Tony who was sitting on Penny’s left.

“I leave it, though.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Shuri gestures to the beach.

“After being invited to. It wasn’t on your own volition,” Tony claims, almost smugly.

“Of course, it was. When I knew Penny was going to be here, I started packing, immediately,” Shuri coolly explains.

“Friendship conquers all,” Tony mutters. He looks over to the girl on his right, starting to feel bad that they broke out in banter. “You ok?”

Penny nods, instantly, but no words leave her mouth. The wind is running faster, than normal, but the island night is still pleasant, but still a teensy-bit cold. She scoots closer to him, looking away.

“You cold?” Tony wraps an arm around her.

His touch, at first, makes Penny wary, but it’s just him. It’s not Delgado…it’s just Mr. Stark. It’s just him. She accepts him and scoots just a bit more and she’s comfortable sitting crouched and curled up next to him while Shuri sits with legs straight out on Tony’s left.

“See, this is nice,” Tony states nonchalantly. “Just us and the island,” he says before plummeting his volume to, almost, a mouse’s whisper, “we’ll just make it a different island, next time.”

Penny couldn’t return to this island, despite its beauty. She’d see him everywhere she went here. The restaurant, the beach, the bathroom, the garden. He was here watching her, he had been here making her do his bidding. It was over, right now, but it repeats forever in her mind. It was something that would never stop forever.

However, it was her last day on the island. She’d go back home, even if it was to depressing Queens. She’d return with good memories, but they’d be very, very, beaten by the huge things that happened here. Penny sees the days here as joyful and painful flashes. It started with Tik Toks and ended with beatings. What a wonderful contrast.

Where was he now? Was he still unconscious? Would he be prosecuted to the full extent of the law? Those were questions Penny came up with, but she was tired of questions. She looks into the grace of the moon and the questions stop and leave her. The moon had an answer: enjoy the night sky and sea.

“What time do w leave tomorrow?” Shuri asks quietly. “I haven’t packed.”

“As late as we want, the flight to New York isn’t that long, but probably no later than five. But I don’t know how long it is to Wakanda,” Tony answers, dipping his fingers into the sand. Maybe they’d go see the sands of Bali or Bondi Beach Maui or the French Riviera, next. He didn’t know where, for sure, but it’d be somewhere. Penny loves the sand and the sea-it makes her smile so much. He’d do anything to make her smile.

“Oh,” Penny remembers, eyes growing to a level of concern.

“Don’t worry about it, Pen. Just relax.”

Penny breathes deeply. The waves keep coming in and out over and over. She could listen to it, forever. That and Shuri’s laughter. She didn’t want to leave her best friend. However, she did have another one waiting at home, for her. Hopefully, the three of them would meet up, someday, and go have fun.

It’s so peaceful, but Penny can’t help but look around every once in a while. He haunts her. She has no logical reason for it, but it’s ingrained in her, now. Is someone watching her from afar with terrible intentions? It’d happened once and it can easily happen again. It doesn’t even occur to Penny that Shuri has passed her phone to Tony who’s trying to show her a picture until her arm is tapped. “I’m sorry, what?”

Tony gives her the phone and it’s a corgi in a shark costume with a vicious face.

Penny snorts. “Oh my god, I love him. I want him.”

“I’ll look up corgi breeders tomor-“

“Nonono, Mr. Stark, I want one, but not, like, now, you know?” Penny laughs.

“…Christmas, then?”

The trio leaps into a conversation about adopting a dog for the next ten minutes. But occasionally, Penny still looks around. He could be there-or someone could!

“Penny,” Tony starts gently. “It’s ok, baby, no one’s there.”

Penny turns her eyes back to the sea with his hand rubbing up and down her back in comfort. “It’s-it’s a habit, now,” she replies nervously.

“Some habits can be broken, kiddo.”

A few stars are able to be seen and the wind slightly calms down. Penny, knowing that he’s gone, even though the creature inside her thinks otherwise, makes a minor shrug-like face. “Some. Just some.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! again, if you liked reading this, i love seeing that "(1)" or even "(2)" in my inbox showing that people commented on my work, i know we all do!!!!! And as well, I'm happy to see constructive feedback in the comments! Thank you so much for reading!


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